New
Material Concerning Female FollowersWith
Continental Regiments

Sociological and historical studies of past
populations have become more commonplace over the last thirty years and
deservedly so. Studies of a community, especially the behavior of its members
and their interaction, can clarify the stimulus for certain occurrences or, at
the very least, help to bring the past to life and render it on a more personal
level. Usually incorporated into such studies is some type of statistical
analysis that may serve as a tool with which to determine the relative impact
of certain minorities on a given population. In her study entitled Belonging
to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution,
Holly A. Mayer indicates the true nature of the Continental Army during that
eight-year war. It was, in fact, a real community, and a rather complex
community, at that. Part of this complexity was due to the dual mission of the
army. While certain units remained in static situations at fixed posts, the
effectiveness of the "moving Army" was tied to its ability to become
highly mobile when the situation demanded. Even in a stationary situation, such
as a fort or fixed camp, the administration of the army was often difficult;
taking this organization on the road, as it were, strained the supply situation
and engendered new discipline problems with among the soldiers.1

Women were thrust or chose to place
themselves in the midst of such circumstances. During the first year of the war
the fledgling Continental Army could truly have been considered a "band of
brothers," with female camp followers a rarity. Beginning in 1776, and
increasingly as the conflict progressed, the presence of women with the army
became common, and their treatment mirrored accepted European military
practice. While providing useful services to the army, female followers also
created difficulties, not the least of which was an increased strain on the
supply system.

The effect female followers had on the
soldiers they encountered should be considered. Their influence can be set against
the circumstances of army life. One good description of conditions was left to
us by Dr. Jabez Campfield: "How hard is the soldier's lott who's least
danger is in the field of action. Fighting happens seldom, but fatigue, hunger,
cold & heat are constantly varying his distress."2 Given these living
conditions the mere presence of women would (depending on the circumstances)
have been a great boon, even if only psychological, in easing the day-to-day
existence of the troops. Besides providing some reminder of, or connection to,
the domestic side of life, female followers also performed services which
contributed to the more mundane aspects of daily living. The most common tasks
allotted to these women were washing, nursing and, occasionally, cooking for
the troops. These were not glamorous tasks but then neither were the daily
chores of the common soldier who wielded a shovel, an axe or a cooking ladle
more often than he fired a musket.

A previous article provided an in-depth
look at the numbers of women with Washington's army from 1776 to 1783. (See
"The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of Female Camp
Followers with the Continental Army", The Brigade Dispatch.)3 With
the information then available, some broad conclusions were arrived at
concerning the presence and role of women on active campaigns, and during more
sedentary periods. In examining nine returns, or series of returns, which
enumerated the women present with various American organizations, it was
ascertained that on average adult female camp followers amounted to about three
percent of the strength of the unit to which they were attached. This roughly
translates to one woman for every thirty men.4

Several recently discovered returns of
women offer new insights concerning the numbers of female followers. It is
important to note that these new documents deal with the enumeration of ration
issues. In fact, there were only a few reasons which compelled commanders to
deal with camp women, viz., the allotment of food and shelter to the followers,
ensuring that they did not fall foul of army rules or interfere with the
mobility of the troops, and finding women to serve as nurses in hospitals.
Probably the most pressing administrative consideration was to account for the
provisions which it was necessary to issue to the women and children
accompanying the troops; this is reflected by the fact that the greatest number
of documents providing a count of camp followers had some association to their
consumption of rations.5

Such administrative concern was well
established before the War for Independence, as one document from the Seven
Years' War in America (1754-1763) will attest. After capturing Quebec on 13
September 1759, British troops occupied the city and went into winter quarters
at the end of the month. In November Captain John Knox of the 43rd Regiment
made the following note:

The officers have hitherto received
rum from the stores, in proportion to their rank; as have likewise the women who were on the
victualling roll, but, by an order of early November, they are all struck off; the women are,
for the future, to be victualled at two thirds' allowance only; for this purpose they are to be
mustered to-morrow by the town-major: such as from sickness cannot appear are to be certified
for by their commanding officers. Provisions are issued to the women upon a presumption that they
are to be useful to the soldiers, either by attending hospitals or by washing for them and
the officers; but hereafter those who suttle are not to be enrolled, nor will any be issued to
those who do not reside in the men's quarters.6

Sixteen years later various records kept
during the American War for Independence show that the same attitudes and
procedures held true: female camp followers were commonly thought of in terms
of the rations they consumed and generally tolerated only when they made some
contribution to the welfare of the army.

When women were present their primary
duties were washing and nursing. In November 1775 Benjamin Church wrote of the
American army around Boston, "They have no women in the camp to do washing
for the men, and they in general not being used to doing things of this sort ... choose rather to let their
linen, etc., rot upon their backs than be at the trouble of cleaning 'em
themselves." During Sullivan's Expedition in 1779, the orders given to
Colonel Shreve at Tioga regarding women mention what were considered to be
their special tasks. "It will ... be absolutely necessary to send most of
the Women and Children to Wyoming, returning only such as may be applied to the
use of the Hospital, or may be deem'd necessary to keep the Soldier's clean at
their Return."7

Two regimental directives confirm the
officers' determination that only those women who complied with orders and
performed their proper duties were to be tolerated. After prices for washing
were set in the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment in autumn of 1778, the unit commander
issued the order that, "Should any woman refuse to wash for a soldier at
the above rate he must make complaint to the officers commanding the company to
which he belongs ... who [if he] finds it proceeds from laziness or any other
improper excuse he is to immediately to dismiss her from the regiment ... but
if she attempts to remain afterwards he must have her drummed out of the
regiment as the Colonel is determined no women shall draw rations from the
continent in his regiment unless they make use of their endeavours to keep the
men clean." This was echoed four years later in August 1782. After a board
of officers in the 10th Massachusetts Regiment met to "affix the preces of
washing," the rates they set were confirmed by the colonel, who went on to
order "that any Woman who shall refuse to conform thereto shall be prohibited
from drawing provision with the regiment." The meaning was clear: although
not on the army payroll, these followers could sometimes expect to be paid for
their services. On the other hand, while their presence with the troops was
accepted, that acceptance depended upon their willingness to live within the
strictures set by the officers.8

Before continuing on to examine and analyze
the numbers of female followers, a more basic question should be addressed.
What kind of women were these who chose, or were forced by circumstance,
to follow the army under very trying conditions? There are few first-hand
descriptions of American camp followers available, but with what little we do
have it seems that they were a mixed lot indeed. Maria Cronkite was the wife of
a musician in the 1st New York Regiment and seems to have been quite well
respected. She was thirty-two years old when she followed her husband into the
army in 1777. Mrs. Cronkite served "in the capacity of washerwoman for the
officers untill the close of the war where her husband was duly discharged ...
[and] had while in said service several children..." As might be expected
in an army where black soldiers were a substantial minority, camp followers
also included a few women of color. In an October 1778 runaway advertisement,
the colonel of the 3rd Maryland Regiment described a "MULATTO slave, named
Sarah, but since calls herself Rachael; she took her son with her, a Mulatto
boy named Bob, about six years old, has a remarkable fair complexion, with
flaxen hair: She is a lusty wench, about 34 years old, big with child; had on a
striped linsey petticoat, linen jacket, flat shoes, a large white cloth cloak,
and a blanket, but may change her dress, as she has other cloaths with her. She
was lately apprehended in the first Maryland regiment, where she pretends to
have a husband, with whom she has been the principal part of this campaign, and
passed herself off as a free woman." (In a "Return of the Negroes in
the Army," 24 August 1778, the 1st Maryland Brigade contained sixty black
soldiers and the 2nd Maryland listed thirty-five.)9

18 October 1778: "RUN-AWAY ... a likely MULATTO slave, named Sarah, but since calls herself Rachael; she took her son with her, a Mulatto boy named Bob, about six years old ... She was lately apprehended in the first Maryland regiment, where she pretends to have a husband, with whom she has been the principal part of this campaign, and passed herself off as a free woman." Runaway advertisement, The Brigade Dispatch, vol. X, no. 4 (Sept./Oct. 1974), 15. Illustration by Peter F. Copeland, courtesy of the artist.

An unflattering view of the army's
followers, this time on the move in 1780, comes from Joseph Plumb Martin.
Although women are not specifically mentioned in his account their presence is
inferred. After being separated from his unit Martin "had an opportunity
to see the baggage of the army pass. When that of the middle states passed us,
it was truly amusing to see the number and habiliments of those attending it;
of all specimens of human beings, this group capped the whole. A caravan of
wild beasts could bear no comparison with it. There was 'Tag, Rag andBobtail';
'some in rags and some in jags,' but none 'in velvet gowns.' [author's
emphasis] Some with two eyes, some with one, and some, I believe, with none at
all ... their dialect, too, was as confused as their bodily appearance was odd
and disgusting. There was the Irish and Scotch brogue, murdered English, flat
insipid Dutch and some lingoes which would puzzle a philosopher ... I was glad to
see the tail end of the train ..."10

The reference to "velvet gowns,"
and the fact that the followers' allotted place on the march was with the
baggage train, both indicate that Martin's colorful description includes women
under its umbrella. Although the narrator's sectional proclivity shines
through, there is probably more than a grain of truth in his observations. The
"middle states" would have been New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Delaware, and, possibly, Maryland. The reference to the "Irish and
Scotch" brogues may have been directed towards Pennsylvania, while
"insipid Dutch" would do for either New Jersey or New York. Despite
his embroidery of the scene, and his Yankee attitude towards
"southerners," the sight of the army's baggage passing by, attendants
and all, must have been one not soon forgotten.

Sarah Osborn, Anna Maria Lane, Margaret
Corbin, Maria Cronkite, Rachael (or Sarah) the "mulatto slave;" these
are just some of the follower's names that have come down to us, some whose
life circumstances are known, most of whom will merely remain entries on a
document. From respected wives to women on the margins of society, from free
white women to enslaved women of color, they all found a place, at one time or
another, with the regiments of the Continental Army.11

Female
Followers with the Troops at Wyoming:Prelude to Sullivan's Campaign, 1779

To counter the depredations of the
Loyalists and their allies, and in anticipation of a punitive expedition led by
General John Sullivan against the Iroquois villages, detachments of Continental
troops were garrisoned at several places on the New York-New
Jersey-Pennsylvania frontier during the winter and spring of 1779. The fort and
village at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, was to be a staging area for Sullivan's army
and Continental troops were sent there in early April to reinforce the
Independent Wyoming Valley company commanded by Captain Simon Spalding.12

Three units moved down from Minisink, New
York, to Wyoming: the German Regiment, Armand's Legion, and Schott's
Independent Company. Accompanying the first two units were a number of women
and probably some children. One of these units, the German Regiment, had served
along the Hudson River at Fishkill and Newburgh, New York, during the autumn of
1778, taking part in duties ranging from road repair to providing an escort for
General John Burgoyne's Convention Troops. It then travelled to Easton,
Pennsylvania, in time to celebrate the New Year, moving from there to Minisink
some time in February with its attendant followers. The other unit containing
women, Armand's Legion (a legion being a mixed command comprised of both
cavalry and infantry), had moved to Minisink in late November 1778. It was not
long after their arrival at the new post when it was noted that the officer
commanding Pulaski's Legion had "retired to Easton with the Horse of Count
Pulaski's and Colo. Armands Corps, not being able to procure Forage at Minisink
or in that neighbourhood." At least some, perhaps all, of the women of
Armand's Legion remained behind with the infantry contingent at Minisink; as
previously noted the foot soldiers under Colonel Armand marched to Wyoming in
early April of the following year, again accompanied by their female
followers.13

Previous to their arrival the commanders of
these units had been informed they would "find Barracks at Wyoming ready
for the greatest part of them." Colonel Zebulon Butler, the post
commander, having been told of the pending reinforcements, was also directed to
"take the necessary precautions for their barracks, and give proper notice
to the commissaries to increase or proportion their supply to your
numbers." It was relative to these increased provisions that the following
return was made.14

"Returns of
the daily Issues of Provisions to the Troopsat the Post of
Wyoming, from May 9th. to the [27th]" 177915

DateMay

What Regt.Corpsor Party

No.Days

No.Men

No.Women

No.Rations

10th

Col. Armand's

3

77

6

249

12

Capt. Spalding's

3

43

7

150

12

Artificer's

3

14

163

11

Capt. Schott's

3

41

123

12

German

3

207

13

960

13

Col. Armand's

1

77

6

83

14

Capt. Schott's

3

41

123

Col. Armand's

3

77

6

249

15

German

3

302

12

942

Artificers

3

14

63

Capt. Spalding's

4

62

8

280

17

Col. Armand's

3

81

*

243

17

German

3

304

12

948

17

Artificers

3

14

63

17

Capt. Schott's

3

41

123

19

Capt. Spalding's

2

65

8

146

20th

Capt. Schott's

3

44

132

Col. Armand's

3

93

*

279

21st

Capt. Spalding's

2

84

9

186

Artificers

3

14

63

German

3

308

14

966

23rd

Capt. Schott's

3

48

144

24

Col. Armand's

3

94

*

282

Capt. Spalding's

2

84

9

186

24th

Artificers

3

14

63

German

3

273

14

861

25

Capt. Spalding's

4

81

9

360

26

Col. Armand's

3

95

*

285

Capt. Schott's

3

47

141

27

German

3

317

12

987

Artificers

3

14

63

* Denotes that this
unit previously contained women.

The above return shows that women were
allowed the same ration as common soldiers (i.e., one full ration per day) and
that the food issued during this period was typical for the war. From the 10th
to the 20th of May rations consisted of one pound of flour, and either one
pound of pork or one and one quarter pounds of fish. Beginning on 21 May, pork
disappeared from the ration and the issue of fish decreased, eventually to be
replaced entirely by one and one quarter pounds of beef.16

Interestingly, although numbers of females
with the German Regiment and Spalding's Independent Company fluctuated only
slightly (from highs of fourteen and nine, to lows of twelve and seven,
respectively) all six women with Armand's Foot company disappeared from the
rolls after 14 May. As the mounted contingent of Armand's Legion were posted
elsewhere, it is feasible that the followers were sent to join them, perhaps in
order to ease the supply situation. (A January 1779 return shows that Armand's
mounted troops numbered only six officers and staff, eight N.C.O.'s, and
nineteen rank and file. After 4 January they may have been located at or near
Easton, Pennsylvania.)17

The background of those units accompanied
by women has some bearing on the reason why these females attached themselves
to the army. Spalding's Independent Company was a special case as regards the
number of followers. This company was formed from Durkee's and Ransom's
Independent Companies, both originally raised in 1776 and comprised of settlers
with ties to the state of Connecticut. (The presence of these
"Yankees" in the area was the result of a pre-war dispute of the
territory between Pennsylvania and Connecticut, for which, see endnote.) These
two units had been assigned to the Main Army in 1777 and had seen a
considerable amount of service. On 23 June 1778 the Board of War reported,
"That the two independent companies raised in the town of Westmoreland
[comprising a large area of northeastern Pennsylvania, including Wyoming]
lately commanded by the Captains Durkee and Ransom, are reduced by various
causes to about eighty-six non-commissioned officers and privates ... that the
said companies are now detached from the main army for the defence of the
frontiers." Upon receipt of this information, Congress resolved "That
the two independent companies ... be united and form one company [and] ... That
Lieutenant Simon Spaulding be appointed captain ..." Until April 1779
Spalding's Company was the sole defense for the area around Wyoming, and, as
late as the 28th of March, "a Body of the enemy, consisting of Indians and
others, had made their appearance at Wyoming, and had destroyed several Houses
and Barns in the neighbourhood ..." It is not suprising that a number of the
men's dependents would opt to take shelter with the company in the fort at
Wyoming.18

As a military organization Armand's Legion
was a bit of an oddity by Continental Army standards. Besides the fact that it
contained both horse and foot soldiers, "Foreign officers were allowed as
were German deserters in the ranks ..." The exact origin of all the men is
not known. In July 1778 Washington ordered "Armand's Regiment to be sent
to Fort Arnold as the most proper place of security, they being chiefly deserters."
Six months later the unit's commander wrote the commander in chief that "i
wish to recrute again; and i think i could have [a] good many of french men and
somme Americains which if not pleased amongs[t] foreigners, could be exchanged
for the french soldears in several regiments of your army. in respect to the
germains, if you would allow me to recrute with such men only what could be
necessary to complete my germains company, i do believe that being amongs[t]
the others [al]ready ordered and acquainted with our customs they would be [a]
great deal better than when my corps was entirely of recrutes." A high
proportion of Germans is emphasized by a captive officer who "observed
Armand's Legion passing by his barracks in 1780 and noted that all four hundred
of these men were former Hessians." It is reasonable to assume that at
least a few women had accompanied them when the men deserted and joined the
Legion. (If these women had formerly been with Hessian regiments, this
could account for the small number of female followers with the unit.) The
other regiment with a unique makeup was the German Regiment, which was
comprised of men of that nationality from the states of Maryland and
Pennsylvania. In this regiment, like Armand's Legion, "German was
undoubtedly spoken in the ranks ..."19

The German Regiment, Spalding's Independent
Company, and at least part of Schott's Company (denoted the Independent Rifle
Company under the command of Lieutenant Anthony Selin) marched with General
John Sullivan into Indian country during the summer and early autumn of 1779.
All or part of the women listed on the May return must have made the march with
Sullivan's troops as far as Tioga. At that place a fortification was built and
some followers were left to serve as nurses and wash for the troops when they
returned; the rest of the women and children were sent back to Wyoming. Upon
the return of Sullivan's army all three units were ordered to remain at Wyoming
and form the garrison there.20

The women enumerated in the Wyoming return
would continue to accompany their chosen units, some possibly until the end of
the war. The German Regiment went on to serve at various posts on the frontier
until the summer of 1780, when it rejoined the main army in New York. The unit
was disbanded in the winter of 1780-81 and the men distributed among the
Maryland and Pennsylvania regiments. In June the detachment of Armand's Legion
at Wyoming was ordered to New Jersey "to join the remainder of the Corps
with this [i.e., the main] Army." After the death of Count Casimir Pulaski
at Savannah, Georgia, as of October 1779 Colonel Armand (formally known as
Charles Armand-Tuffin, Marquis de La Rouerie) was appointed commander of the
Pulaski Legion. With his command of one hundred and twenty men (sixty horse and
sixty foot) he joined the southern army in July 1780, where they were merged
with the few survivors of Pulaski's Legion and participated in the disastrous
Battle of Camden. About forty survivors of the corps joined Lafayette in May
1781, and fought at the Battle of Green Spring in July, and at Yorktown in
October. Four months after the capture of the British force at Yorktown, the
Legion was sent to join Nathanael Greene's army in South Carolina. It was
recalled to the Main Army in September 1782. Spalding's Independent Company
remained at Wyoming until January 1781. There are several differing accounts
concerning the ultimate fate of the enlisted men of the company; one
second-hand source states that the unit was "broken up and its men
assigned to the 1st Connecticut Regiment" while another merely relates
that it was disbanded in 1781. Captain Simon Spalding was transferred to the
1st Connecticut on the above-noted date; it is probable that his men and some
of their dependents followed him into that regiment.21

"Provisions
and Stores Issued to the Grand Army"Female
Followers at Middlebrook, 1779

During the winter of 1778-79, a large part
of the Continental Army wintered over at Middlebrook, New Jersey. The first
soldiers reached the site shortly after 1 December 1778 and immediately began
constructing shelters, the last of which were not completed until about the
middle of January 1779. Initially the army had to live in tents while working
on the huts and "suffered extremely from exposure to cold and
storms." Despite this rough beginning the troops found the winter to be
"remarkably mild and temperate," and living conditions improved after
the huts were completed. As at Valley Forge in the previous winter, many of the
women with the regiments must have remained with their units throughout the
cantonment. This is supported by the return discussed below.22

Area of the Middlebrook winter camp, 1778-79. Peter Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook 1778-1779",Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. 70 (April 1952), between 132 and 133.

Towards the end of the Middlebrook camp
consideration was given towards the opening of the summer's campaign. Among
other matters some concern over the army’s provisioning resulted in the
following request from the commander in chief, General George Washington:

As the daily issues of Provisions
exceed, considerably, the total number of the Troops in this Camp, I wish to know on what days,
in what manner, and by whose Orders the Provisions are drawn ... You will be pleased to add
the number of rations issued to the women in camp.23

A series of five returns for the period of
one month, 21 April to 28 May 1779, shows the number of women with eight
brigades of the main army under Washington at Middlebrook.24

1st
Pennsylvania Brigade1st,
2nd, 7th and 10th Pennsylvania Regiments

21-28 April

1-7 May

8-14 May*

15-21 May

22-28 May

1,252 men

1,235 men

1,300 men

1,300 men

1,393 men

105 women

106 women

113 women

113 women

(no women

(1 woman to12 men)

(1 to 12)

(1 to 11 )

(1 to 11 )

returned)

* 8.2 percentof brigadestrength

2nd Pennsylvania Brigade3rd,
5th, 6th and 9th Pennsylvania Regiments

21-28 April

1-7 May*

8-14 May

15-21 May

22-28 May

1,053 men

1,409 men

1,061 men

848 men

1,143 men

106 women

106 women

107 women

104 women

99 women

(1 woman to 10 men)

(1 to 13)

(1 to 10)

(1 to 8)

(1 to 11)

* 10.1 percent of brigadestrength

1st Maryland Brigade1st,
3rd, 5th and 7th Maryland Regiments

21-28 April

1-7 May

8-14 May*

15-21 May

22-28 May

(no return

1,264 men

1,291 men

1,292 men

1,244 men

given)

75 women

82 women

80 women

81 women

(1 woman to17 men)

(1 to 16)

(1 to 16 )

(1 to 15)

* 6.3 percent of brigadestrength

2nd Maryland Brigade2nd,
4th and 6th Maryland Regiments(As of the
22-28 May return the Delaware Regiment was added to this brigade.)

21-28 April

1-7 May

8-14 May

15-21 May*

22-28 May

1,088 men

1,088 men

1,074 men

1,212 men

1,691 men

67 women

69 women

71 women

72 women

89 women

(1 woman to16 men)

(1 to 16)

(1 to 15)

(1 to 17)

(1 to 19)

* 5.3 percent of brigadestrength

Muhlenberg's Brigade1st
and 10th Virginia Regiments, 1st
and 2nd Virginia State Battalions(As of the 22-28 May
return Gist's Regiment (formerly Grayson's Additional) and
the 6th Virginia Regiment were added to the brigade, and the 1st and 10th
consolidated.)

Scott's Brigade4th,
6th and 8th Virginia Regiments,Delaware
Regiment and Grayson's Additional Regiment(As of the 22-28 May return Scott's Brigade had been dissolved and the
regiments transferred to
Muhlenberg's, Woodford's and 2nd Maryland brigades.)

* All ratios rounded up if .51 or
higher; if .50 or less the figures have been rounded down.

Due to space constrictions, and
the need for some simplification, the following subjective criteria were instituted in determining the percentage of women in
comparison to the overall strength of each brigade. This calculation has been made only for those
returns giving the highest number of troops; if two returns are close in numbers the one
showing the greater number of women has been used. The reasoning behind this is the
supposition that the higher numbers give a more accurate impression of the true troop strength, some
soldiers being absent on command, guard duty or for other reasons.

At the end of May the army at Middlebrook
made ready to leave camp. On 3 June the commander in chief informed General
William Alexander, Lord Stirling that, "The enemy have landed at
Kings-ferry, are in such force, and seem to have such capitol objects in view,
that I must move my whole strength towards the No[rth]. [i.e., Hudson] River
..."25

General Arthur St. Clair's Pennsylvania
troops were the first to set out, on 29 May, followed by Stirling's Virginia
Division on the 2nd of June and Baron DeKalb's Maryland Division the day after
that. Writing on 3 June from the Park of Artillery at Pluckemin, Commissary
Samuel Hodgdon related. "We are all upon the move the Park marches
tommorrow the rout I understand to be towards North River where it is
conjectured the Enemy mean to open the Campaign, and it is with heart felt
satisfaction that I now can inform you our Army are well accoutred and in high
Spirits."26

Having survived yet another winter with the
army, and probably with the addition of some new women, female followers
accompanied the troops as they headed north in early summer 1779. This movement
of the army, and the documents we have concerning the numbers of women known to
have been present with the troops, take on more meaning when set against
information pertaining to the place of women on the march. As in all such
operations the assigned place of those women marching with the army was with
the baggage train. Relative to that matter this movement saw the issuance of
yet another general order decrying "the pernicious practice of suffering
the women to incumber the Waggons [which] still continues notwithstanding every
former prohibition." All told, during the eight-year conflict, there were
eight army-wide orders directing women to march with the baggage or prohibiting
them from riding on the wagons; three in 1777, two in 1778, and one each in
1779 and 1780.27 The final order referring to the practice relented somewhat.
General orders, 19 June 1781:

No Women will be suffered to ride in
waggons or walk in the ranks this Campaign unless there are very particular reasons for it
... a written permission only will avail; without this the officers of the day or police are not only
authorized to turn them out, but requested to inflict instant punishment ...28

The movement by Washington's main army into
New York in 1779 had no immediate result other than to cover the river
fortifications and discourage the British from making any further moves. A
month after the army left Middlebrook one soldier wrote: "No particular
news in Camp, daily expectation of the enemies advances to the Fort at West
Point but at present they are quite still." Except for the successful coup
at Stony Point on 16 July by Anthony Wayne's Light Infantry and the capture of
an enemy fort at Paulus Hook, New Jersey, in August, Washington's army (and its
followers) spent the remainder of the campaigning season in relative quiet
around the city of New York.29

Although it is known that certain
Continental regiments contained more women than others, while some had very few
or none at all, it is interesting and of some use to try to determine the
average number of followers per regiment in each brigade at Middlebrook. One
purpose for this exercise would be to ascertain just how many women may optimally
have been in each company, given the unlikely circumstance that all the
followers were divided evenly among the regiments in each brigade. This gives
us an idea of the frequency of interaction between women and men at the company
level and the possible effect women had on these units. This approximation can
be obtained by a study of army organization and some simple computation. One
caveat has first to be given. When accounting for the average number of women
per regiment, the three Virginia brigades pose a problem. By the end of May
1779, due to the consolidation of several regiments from the state, Scott's
Brigade had been dissolved and its units dispersed among the other two
brigades. It was in mid-May that eight under strength units were merged to form
four full regiments; at this same time the Delaware Regiment was transferred to
the 2nd Maryland Brigade. Unfortunately, as regards the Virginia troops, this
serves to make their actual brigade composition for the latter half of the
month somewhat vague. In examining the returns it can be seen that brigade
strength fluctuated during May, hence it is possible that some units were
attached to their new brigades immediately while others did not join until the
end of the month. It is certain that for the first return in April the
original brigade composition was still in effect and that by the 22-28 May
return the reorganization had taken place. Because of this there are two
figures given for the Virginia Brigades, one for the initial April return and
one for the final one in May. For the other brigades the numbers of women are
taken from those returns utilized to determine the unit percentages.30 (See
Middlebrook returns for those marked with an asterisk.)

Estimates of Average Numbers of Followers for Sub-Units

1st Pennsylvania Brigade

Four regiments

28 women per regiment

3 women per
company *

2nd Pennsylvania Brigade

Four regiments

27 women per regiment

3 women per company

1st Maryland Brigade

Four regiments

21 women per regiment

2 women per company

2nd Maryland Brigade

Four regiments

22 women per regiment

2 women per company

Muhlenberg's Brigade

21-28 April

Four regiments

11 women per regiment (eight companies)

1 woman per company

22-28 May

Five regiments

15 women per regiment

1 woman per company

Woodford's Brigade

21-28 April

Five regiments

10 women per regiment (eight companies)

1 woman per company

22-28 May

Four regiments

26 women per regiment

3 women per company

Scott's Brigade

21-28 April

Five regiments

17 women per regiment (eight companies)

2 women per company

Knox's Artillery

Twenty-two companies

3 women per company

* Unless otherwise
noted it is assumed that there were nine companies per regiment. According to the 1779 table of organization
a company contained sixty-one sergeants, corporals, musicians, and privates.31

Another element which adds to the interest
of the Middlebrook returns is the lack of information for some state's troops.
Until now there were no known records of camp followers for any Pennsylvania
infantry units or the Delaware Regiment. Only one return for the 1st Virginia
Regiment at Winchester Barracks has been found, along with a single return for
a Maryland detachment of two hundred and fifty-one men in New York state, both
in 1783. (Admittedly the figure given for the Delaware Regiment was obtained by
default and at best approximates the actual number of women, but it is more
than was known before.)32

Previously known returns contained
information on the numbers of followers with units from New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, as well as smaller
contingents of troops such as the Corps of Sappers and Miners, the Commander in
Chief's Guard, and the Artillery Regiments. In these returns there can be seen
proportions of women similar to those found in the 1779 ration return, most
notably for the Commander in Chief's Guard in 1781 and the Maryland Detachment
and New York Regiments in 1783.33

It is feasible that, contrary to the
overall trend, the numbers of women decreased in a few regiments during the
later war years. Most particularly this could have been true for the
Pennsylvanians who, three months after their January 1781 mutiny, marched to
Virginia under General Anthony Wayne. One man stated that the Pennsylvania
mutineers at Princeton, New Jersey, in January had "about 100" women
with them. It is not known if this was the full complement of followers with
those regiments, or whether some women had remained behind at their camp near
Morristown. If this was the total number of women, their numbers had
been greatly reduced since 1779. (In the 8 to 14 May 1779 return at Middlebrook
the two Pennsylvania brigades had 2,361 men and 220 women, for a ratio of one
woman for eleven men. By contrast, the November 1780 return for the two
brigades shows 2,794 non-commissioned officers, rank and file, in ten
regiments. Allowing one hundred women with these units, the ratio had increased
to one woman for thirty men.) After the successful culmination of the Siege of
Yorktown the Pennsylvanians, with some female followers, were sent further on
to South Carolina where they remained until some time in 1783. These movements,
which took them progressively further from their home state, could easily have
resulted in fewer women being able, or choosing, to accompany the Pennsylvania
soldiers.34

“The
women belonging to their respective corps"Further
Analysis and Comparison of the Returns of Women

Although some interesting correlations can
be seen between the Wyoming and Middlebrook returns, it must be noted that both
sets of returns were made under disparate circumstances, and for differing
numbers of troops during the same period of time, thus making any similarities
and differences significant. To continue our analysis, the proportions of women
in the units listed on both sets of returns need to be contrasted. The
statistics for the women at Wyoming with the two largest Continental units
agree with the figure of three percent of unit strength previously set forth as
the average for the war. This claim is at least partially tied to the
supposition that the followers listed on the return for Armand's Corps
represent the total number of women with that unit; even discounting this
assumption it is notable that the other unit, the German Regiment, should
mirror the three-percent average while all of the units on the return for the
main army during the same period show a much higher percentage of followers.
Among the explanations for this could be that the German Regiment just may have
been one of those units with fewer camp followers. On the other hand some women
may have remained behind at other posts, or left the regiment entirely, during
the movements before the unit's arrival at Wyoming. This last point is
especially compelling when the difficult traveling and living conditions on the
frontier are considered.

Statistics Concerning Women at Wyoming in 1779

German Regiment12 women and 317 men on 27 May1 woman for 26 men (3.5 percent of unit strength)

Armand's Corps6 women and 77 men (120 men) *1 woman for 13 men (1 woman for 20 men)(3.8 percent of total unit strength)

Spalding's Company9 women and 84 men1 woman for 9 men

* The total strength of Armand's Corps,
including the detached cavalry, may have amounted to 120 men in May 1779.35

In the Middlebrook returns the percentage
of women in individual brigades ranged from a high of 10.1 percent in the 2nd
Pennsylvania Brigade for the period 8 to 14 May to a low of 5 percent in
Muhlenberg's Virginia Brigade from 22 to 28 May 1779. Compared to previously
known returns, which indicated an average of closer to three percent of unit
strength (or one woman for every thirty men), even the percentage of women in
Muhlenberg's Brigade was markedly greater. Averaged for the entire war the
figure of three percent may still be true. In support of this contention it
must be considered that in 1775 there were very few women present with the
army. The following year saw an increase in the numbers of female followers,
but it was not until 1777 that relatively large numbers of women attached
themselves to the army. It is possible that during the years from 1777 to 1780,
a period for which unit returns of women are sorely lacking, there were overall
larger numbers of females than during the other five years of the war. A summer
1778 allotment of female followers points to this: 25 July, "Head
Quarters, White Plains ... The Brigade Majors are reminded to bring on the
Super-numeraries (i.e., those in excess of the necessary number), one to every
twelve men." Thus, for the four years in question (1777-1780) the numbers
and proportion of women seen in the 1779 return may have been the
norm.36

As it concerns a large portion of the
"moving Army" during a period for which we hitherto have had no data
the Middlebrook returns can lay some claim to being the more important of these
newly found documents. Prior to this only three returns for a comparably sized
portion of the Continental Army were available to give us an overall view of
numbers of women. The December 1777 return was made just as the army went into
winter quarters at Valley Forge and shows 400 women for a force of 17,757
non-commissioned officers and rank and file (much larger than the Middlebrook
troop strength). Unfortunately, the number shown on this return is either an
estimate of followers or a rounding-off of the actual number. A June 1781
return lists 137 women for a force of 4,410 N.C.O.'s, rank and file, and a
January 1783 return gives 405 women and 302 children with a force totaling
10,443. The 1781 list is for a detachment approximately half the size of the
force at Middlebrook and the last return was made in the final year of the war
during the middle of a winter cantonment. The circumstances under which these
other documents were made hinder a completely equitable comparison with the
Middlebrook return which contained both a large number of troops and was made
at the end of a winter camp and just prior to a major movement of the army.
Additionally, the winter at Middlebrook stands out from most other winter
camps. Unlike the forces around Boston in 1775-76 and at Morristown in the
winter of 1776-77, the army at Middlebrook was a newly reorganized,
disciplined, and experienced army, and had been accompanied by a numerous
contingent of women and children during the previous two years. When compared
to Valley Forge and the winter camps at Morristown in 1779-80 and 1780-81, the
supply situation and economy of the country were markedly different, both
criteria being in relatively good condition during the Middlebrook winter. The
winters in the New York Highlands in 1781-82 and 1782-83 were rather more
similar, though some units had moved southwards and many had been reduced in
manpower.37

Leaving aside the dissimilarity in numbers,
there are some points obliquely alluded to by both sets of returns. These have
to do with the presence of women during a winter cantonment and their
accompanying troops on campaign. First let us address the matter of the winter
months. If the December 1777 return of four hundred women with the army at
Valley Forge is accurate, and the large numbers recorded in the 1779
Middlebrook and 1783 New Windsor army returns are an indication, then one
question begs to be asked: Did the majority of these women accompany the army
as it entered a cantonment and winter over with the troops or were their
numbers lower at the beginning of winter, only to increase as the weather began
to moderate?

The women on the Wyoming return had
probably remained with their units throughout the winter, this being inferred
by the situation of these organizations at the time: Spalding's Company was a
locally raised unit in a war-ravaged community whose families may have been
unable or unwilling to leave their homes while at the same time needing some
assurance of safety; Armand's Corps had been sent to the frontier late in 1778,
and the German Regiment had been moved about quite frequently before its arrival
at the Wyoming post. Some of their followers may have remained behind in New
York or New Jersey when the troops marched west, but the probability of any
such women rejoining their units given the distances involved and the difficult
traveling conditions is unlikely, except perhaps when the dogged determination
of female camp followers is taken into consideration. Added to this is prior
evidence of the reluctance of those women to separate from their consorts in
spite of very trying circumstances. (For examples of this determination see
John U. Rees, "'The multitude of women': An Examination of the Numbers of
Female Camp Followers with the Continental Army", The Brigade Dispatch,
vol. XXIII, no. 4, 6-15; vol. XXIV, no. 1, 6-7, 10-15.)38

As for followers remaining in camp
throughout the winter, this can only be assumed to have been the case for those
women enumerated in the Middlebrook returns. Some women had previously wintered
over with the army at Valley Forge. Unfortunately, accurate numbers of those who
stayed cannot be known, even though we have the December 1777 return of four
hundred women, the names of several individual females present at Valley Forge,
and John Laurens’ remark that the "camp whores, who have become numerous,
are being used as nurses." The only comprehensive and credible winter camp
return is the one made in January 1783 for the army at New Windsor. That
document shows large numbers of female followers with the troops; whatever the
situation was during the intervening years cannot be known for certain.39

"Plan of a Regiment. Soldier's Hutts 14 by 16;" "We began to hut the 19th - and go on with great Alacrity ...," Josiah Harmar, 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, Millstone Camp, 23 December 1778. The women who wintered over at Middlebrook would have been accommodated in huts like these. "Letter Book No: 1. Lieut. Colonel Josiah Harmar", 20 January 1778 to 9 November 1778 (Letter Book A), 14, Josiah Harmar Papers, William L. Clements Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Courtesy of William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.

It must be noted that the Valley Forge
return of female followers is particularly interesting, as it was made at the
close of an especially arduous campaign, at the beginning of which Washington
had complained of "the multitude of women ... [who] are a clog upon every
movement." In these circumstances it is possible the number of women with
the army in December 1777 was less (perhaps much less) than had been present
during the previous summer. It is also reasonable to assume that the number of
followers in a winter cantonment increased as the warm season approached, with
a proportion of the newly joined women remaining with the army in the ensuing
campaign. The appeal of joining troops in a garrison or winter camp, especially
when living conditions became better (or at least stabilized) and food supply
improved, is apparent. Hence, the Middlebrook return may show the army in a
situation where conditions were conducive for the accommodation of the highest
number of followers for the year.40

While it is probable that large numbers of
women were with the army for at least part of the winter at Middlebrook, as
well as at some other winter camps, their presence during such times could be
especially troublesome. Supplying food to soldiers in winter was a difficult
task. Occasionally even the basic ration of "Salt Beef and Ash Cake"
was hard to obtain due to the state of the economy, administrative
inefficiencies, or vagaries of weather. By the time the army reached Valley Forge
in December 1777 the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments had broken down
and the army suffered during the three or four months it took to reorganize
them. Several times during the severe winter of 1779-80 at Morristown there was
"Great scarcity of Provisions in Camp" due to heavy snowfall and a
poor economy. It may have been the inadequate food supply which prompted the
commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment to order that "No provision is to
be allowed to any Woman or Women whatever, but such as may be ordered by the
Commanding officer of the Regiment."41

There is one known instance when the women
of a regiment may have been removed en masse from their unit in winter. In
December 1780 the commander of the New Jersey Brigade was directed "to put
a Captain with a full Company in readiness to march to Wyoming to relieve the
Garrison at present there." This detachment, consisting of three officers
and seventy men, marched from Pompton, New Jersey, early in the new year.42 A
musician in the 3rd New Jersey noted that

On the 8 Day of January 1781 all the
Odd Criples Envaleads Weoman and
Children of [the] Jersey Bragd [brigade] Marcht for
Wiomy In order to keep Garason for 1 Year ...43

The composition of this command was
partially confirmed a year later when the men were described as being "by
reason of age lameness & other infirmities, fit persons for Garrison duty
only ..." (The women may have been sent to Wyoming to care for the
invalids and assist them in their duties, or in order to place them in a
situation where their presence was less of a burden to the army.) Evidently
only a part of the followers marched with the Wyoming detachment since some
women were present when the New Jersey regiments mutinied on 20 January. The
women and children of the Jersey Brigade who did go to Wyoming in 1781
returned to the main army before the rest of the garrison, which was not
relieved until February 1783. This is verified by the previously mentioned
January 1783 return of followers showing thirty-nine women and twenty-seven
children present with the Jersey troops at New Windsor.44

The presence of women on campaign with the
army has been addressed in a previous article, but several new perspectives
merit further discussion. As stated before, both returns examined in this study
were compiled at the end of a winter camp and just prior to a major troop
movement. Just how many women and children marched with the army when it left
Middlebrook in 1779 cannot be known but the attendance of at least some
followers is verified by the 7 June general order concerning women riding on
baggage wagons.45 On this march, as in others, the presence of women was
tolerated by the commanders only insofar as they did not retard the army’s
progress.

Camp follower in marching order. Illustration by John R. Wright, courtesy of the artist.

By contrast as General John Sullivan's army
moved towards Tioga, near the New York border, his orders frequently mentioned
female followers. The first reference to women with the expedition occurred on
2 June 1779 at Easton, Pennsylvania, when regimental commanders were directed
to "examine particularly the baggage of their soldiers & women and
prevent their carrying more than their circumstances absolutely demand."
During the march up the Susquehanna River the women's presence was taken
advantage of. Though some of the army's baggage moved by water Sullivan also
stipulated that "Every article ... that can possibly be loaded on Pack
horses is to be fixed for that purpose and carried in that manner." The
troops left Wyoming on 31 July; two days later it was decided that the women
could facilitate the army's march by performing a task normally allocated to
soldiers.46

Com[mandin]g officers of regiments
will please to order all the women belonging to their respective corps, who can ride,
immediately to quit the boats & proceed by land, as there will be a sufficiency of pack horses
& as the women going on horseback will diminish the number of drivers from the army.47

Commanders eventually relented in other
ways; in June 1781 the commander in chief admitted that some women would have
to be permitted "to ride in waggons [or] walk in the ranks" with the
troops while on the march.48

All in all, there is much that remains to
be discovered about the women who followed the Continental Army. In regard to
this particular study there are a number of items to put on the wish list.
First, the (unlikely) discovery of a similar return (or series of returns) for
the troops at the beginning of the Middlebrook winter would help address
the question of numbers of followers throughout that cantonment. Additionally,
during that winter large numbers of Continental troops were situated elsewhere.
The New Jersey troops were cantoned at Elizabethtown and Newark, New Jersey,
while the North Carolina Brigade spent the winter at Paramus in the same state.
The Massachusetts regiments were stationed along the Hudson River at Fishkill,
Peekskill, and West Point, and the Connecticut and New Hampshire troops found
winter quarters at Danbury, Connecticut. It is unfortunate no returns are
available for these detached units during this same period, especially as there
is no information concerning women with the North Carolina troops during the
war and data on followers in the New Jersey regiments is meager at best. In
addition, the opportunity for further comparison between all of the brigades
(or regiments) of the army during the same month would be helpful in order to
observe any differences in numbers of camp followers among different
organizations. Possibly, similar returns were made for those brigades that did
not winter at Middlebrook, which, if they do exist, may be discovered at some
future date.49

Another unknown element concerns the
constancy of American camp followers. What was the proportion of women with the
regiments who served consistently over a number of years or for the entire war.
Soldiers were bound by the terms of their enlistment; women would not have been
considered deserters if they left and would only have been sought for some very
compelling reason such as the commission of a crime. Some turnover among the
followers, even during a single year, was inevitable. The only way to ascertain
this would be to put some names behind the numbers that we now have. This would
have to be in conjunction with a series of returns or a first-hand narrative
containing the names of female followers and indicating their presence with and
departure from the parent unit. Again, an unlikely possibility, but one can
always hope.

It seems that no matter how much
information is found concerning these remarkable, but unremarked, women there
will always remain a large void that will never properly be filled. The
attendance of these followers was taken for granted, often begrudgingly,
although in many instances their presence was taken advantage of to the benefit
of the troops and the army as a whole. Although their contributions were
rendered beyond the scope of the historical spotlight and the minutiae of their
lives with the army have been all but relegated to obscurity, perhaps with a
little luck further insights into the mundane and delightfully human aspects of
their relationship with the community of the Continental Army will be brought
to light.

Acknowledgements

As with my other writings, there are a
number of people who made vital contributions to this work. Special thanks go
to Thaddeus Weaver who discovered the Wyoming return of women, a find that led
me on to uncover the Middlebrook returns in the same collection. Ron Beifuss
and Henry M. Cooke IV made available previously unknown documents concerning
female followers. Peter Copeland made me aware of the 1778 runaway
advertisement for Sarah, the mulatto slave, while both he and John R. Wright
were kind enough to allow use of their illustrations in the article. The
William L. Clements Library and Princeton University Press allowed me to
reproduce two maps in their holdings. Finally, my thanks to Don Hagist, who
continues to be a moving force concerning the dissemination of new information
on the women who followed the armies of the American Revolution, and, most of all,
to Holly Mayer who once again plied her red pen and good advice in an effort to
keep me on my toes. My thanks to all.

Endnotes

1. Holly A. Mayer, Belonging
to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution
(S.C., 1996) (hereafter cited as Mayer, Belonging to the Army).
"Substance of the Contract for the moving Army", 9 July 1782, George
Washington Papers, Presidential Papers Microfilm (Washington, D.C., 1961),
series 4, reel 86 (hereafter cited as GW Papers).

2. Journal of Dr. Jabez
Campfield, 4 August 1779, Journals of the Military Expedition of Major
General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 (Glendale,
N.Y., 1970), 53 (hereafter cited as Journals of Sullivan's Expedition).

5. Of five letters
written by Washington (for sources, see below) in which female followers are
covered, one discusses rations and women serving as nurses, two solely concern
rations for women, one asks for a proposal for setting the proportion of women
to be allowed and the rations allotted to them, and two explain why the
proposed proportion of one woman for fifteen men cannot be adhered to.

The nineteen general orders for the army
which deal with women cover a variety of subjects. Since two topics were
sometimes covered in tandem by a single order the following breakdown does not
mirror the number of orders found:

Number of OrdersDealing With theSubject

Subject of General Order

1

Directs to sergeants to relay army orders to women in their units.

1

States a proposal for the set proportion of women allowed
with the army in 1783.

2

Concern women serving as nurses.

2

Request returns of the number of women with the army.

2

Relate specific instances when women
were not to accompany the troops during a movement.

4

Direct a reduction of the numbers of women with the army.

4

Deal with the allotment of rations to women.

7

Order women to march with the baggage or prohibit their
riding on wagons.

My first study dealt with the number of
women with the army based on information garnered from a number of returns
covering the years 1776 to 1783. Of those returns studied all gave numbers of
women in conjunction with some other factor relating to their presence with the
army. (For analysis and citations of these returns see, Rees, "... the
multitude of women", parts 1, 2 and 3)

6 individual returns or series of
returns list the number of women in relation to the rations they consumed.

1-1779 return listed the women who
remained as "Washer women" after the surplus followers had been sent away.

1-1776 return for a single company
had the number of Washer-Women" appended. An interesting point is
that although the number of needed tents is given no tentage was allowed for the three women.

1-1777 listing of mess squads
included women with two of the groupings. A mess squad was a unit which related to both shelter and rations.

Although not a return of numbers, a
1777 order for Sullivan's Brigade stipulated the number of women alloted to a tent.

6. John Knox, The
Siege of Quebec and the Campaigns in North America, 1757-1760, Brian
Connell, ed., (Edinburgh, 1976), 228.

1778 brigade
composition, Charles H. Lesser, Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength
Reports of the Continental Army (Chicago, Il. and London, 1976), 80-81
(hereafter cited as Lesser, Sinews of Independence). See also: Benjamin
Quarles, The Negro in the American Revolution (New York, London,
1973), 68-93. John U. Rees, "'I
Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime ...': An Account of the Services of
the Second New Jersey Regiment, December 1777 to June 1779", TMs, The
David Library of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing, PA (hereafter
cited as "I Expect to be stationed in Jersey sometime ..."). At least
2 blacks, 4 mulattoes and 3 Native Americans served in the 2nd New Jersey
Regiment. "Blacks, Mulattoes and Indians Known to Have Served in the 2nd
New Jersey Regiment of 1778-79," Appendix to the foregoing unpublished
manuscript.

15. "Returns
of the daily Issues of Provisions to the Troops at the Post of Wyoming, from
May 9th. to the [27th]" 1779, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (The
Manuscript File) in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records,
1775-1790's, Record Group 93, National Archives Microfilm Publication M859,
reel 75, item no. 22023 (hereafter cited as Misc. Numbered Records).
(Document courtesy of Thaddeus Weaver)

16. The contention
that the women on the Wyoming return are allowed a full ration is based on the
supposition that officer's rations are not included, officers usually being
issued more than one ration. The fact that for each entry the rations issued
exactly equals the number of days multiplied by the number of men and women
seems to support the idea that each person listed was allotted one ration. For
a general study of rations in the Continental Army see: John U. Rees, "'It
was my turn to cook for the mess': Provisions of the Common Soldier in the
Continental Army, 1775-1783", feature column in Food History News
beginning with vol. VII, no. 1 (Fall 1995). For specific information on
officer's rations see, John U. Rees, "'A better repast ...': Officer's
Fare in the Continental Army" (unpublished manuscript). For rations and
camp followers see: Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIII,
no. 4, 15, endnote no. 2.

17. "Return of
the Independent Corps of Cavallerie and of Foot, Commanded by Collonel Armand.
Menesing January 4. 1779," Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, National
Archives Microfilm Publication M246, Record Group 93, reel 115, section 16-2
(hereafter cited as Revolutionary War Rolls, National Archives).

Although not
strictly pertinent to this study, the unusual presence of Connecticut Settlers
in Pennsylvania merits some explanation. The following has been excerpted from,
Anne M. Ousterhout, A State Divided: Opposition in Pennsylvania to the
American Revolution (New York, Westport, Ct., London, 1987), 232-234: "The Wyoming area originally
had been settled by people from Connecticut, but their claims fell within the
boundaries of Pennsylvania's charter. Both sides claimed charter grants and
Indian treaties to support their claims to the Wyoming Valley. The Susquehannah
Company of Connecticut, organized in 1753 to settle the area, claimed that the
1662 charter of Connecticut had granted to that colony land from sea to sea
nineteen years before William Penn had secured his charter granting him land
overlapping the area previously given to Connecticut. The company recognized
the intervening land of New York, whose eastern border Connecticut had accepted
in 1664, but argued that Connecticut could overjump New York territory and
continue its old charter claims to the 'South Seas' ... after the Indian treaty
of Fort Stanwix opened this area to legal white settlement ... Several
Connecticut groups moved into the region under the auspices of the Susquehannah
Company, but the settlers were driven off by representatives of the Penns. In
February 1770, the Paxton Boys from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who had already
had their own conflicts with the Pennsylvania authorities, joined the New
Englanders and, in exchange for land, provided that group with the military
muscle needed to displace the Pennsylvanians." After a series of minor
conflicts, in which each side sustained losses, in 1771 "Pennsylvania's
support for its settlers was so weak and disorganized that the Susquehannah
Company settlers were able to capture the Pennsylvania fort and once more take
charge of the region. By the following spring, Connecticut people
("Yankees") were moving into the Wyoming Valley in substantial
numbers, and this time were there to stay." The Pennsylvanians (or
"Pennamites") were determined to confine Yankee settlement to the
east branch of the Susquehanna River, and were successful in doing so. In 1774
the Wyoming Valley area was made into a large town called Westmoreland by the
Connecticut government, and assigned to the Connecticut county of Litchfield.
In the remaining few years prior to the War of the Revolution both Pennsylvania
and Connecticut surveyors were active in the area, although "Connecticut
had de facto control over the area and Connecticut settlers were flocking there
to claim land under the auspices of that colony. In December 1775, one last
Pennsylvania expedition ... failed to dislodge the New Englanders. The Penns
continued to protest the Connecticut settlements on their land, but it was not
until December 1782, at Trenton, that congressional commissioners heard the
respective claims and decided in favor of Pennsylvania." For removal of
Spalding's Company from the Wyoming area and settlement of the dispute see:
Washington to Zebulon Butler, 29 December 1780, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol.
21 (1937) 32. Washington to the Secretary at War, 6 November 1782, ibid.,
vol. 25 (1938) 321. Washington to John Dickinson, 12 January 1783, ibid.,
vol. 26 (1938) 33.

19. Berg, Encyclopedia
of Continental Army Units, 9-10:
"On June 11, 1777 Lieutenant Colonel Charles Armand-Tuffin, Marquis de la
Rouerie, succeeded to the command of Baron Ottendorf's Independent Company.
Armand was an officer in the French Army. By November of that year the unit ...
was down to 42 privates. Armand ... initiated a recruiting drive. His recruiters
brought in their share of wretched characters, including German prisoners of
war." The unit was also known as Armand's "Free and Independent
Chasseurs" or Partisan Corps. On 21 June "a Corps of German
Volunteers was incorporated into the unit." Washington to William Malcom,
27 July 1778, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 12 (1934), 240. Armand to
Washington, 20 January 1779, Letters of Col. Armand, Marquis de la Rouerie,
1779-1791, vol. II, Collections of the New-York Historical Society for the
Year 1878, XI (New York, N.Y., 1879), 307-308 (hereafter cited as Letters of Col. Armand, NYHS).
Charles Patrick Neimeyer, America Goes to War: A Social History of the
Continental Army (New York and London, 1996) 61 (hereafter cited as
Neimeyer, America Goes to War). Bruce E. Burgoyne, "Women with the
Hessian Auxiliaries during the American Revolutionary War", part 1, The
Brigade Dispatch, vol. XXVI, no. 1 (Spring 1996), 2-4 (hereafter cited as Burgoyne, "Women with the Hessian
Auxiliaries"): One table in this article gives the number of women with
six German regiments in the last two months of 1779. When the ratios of women
to men are calculated they are similar to the Continental average, that is,
about one woman for thirty-three men. Retzer, German Regiment, V-VI, 1-6. Neimeyer, America Goes to War, 49-50.

The strength of Armand's Corps (noted as
being at Minisink) in the spring of 1779 was 64 present fit for duty, 3 sick
present, 5 on command, 1 on furlough. Total: 73. Washington's memorandum of the
Strength of the Continental Army, Spring 1779, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 14
(1936), 401. A 25 June return shows a total of 84 officers and enlisted men in
the unit, then stationed at Wyoming, "A Return of the Independend Corps
commanded by Collo Armand Wyoming June 25th 1779," Revolutionary
War Rolls, National Archives, reel 115, section 16-2.

22. Peter
Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook 1778-1779", Proceedings of the
New Jersey Historical Society, vol. 70 (April 1952), 105 (hereafter cited
as Angelakos, "The Army at Middlebrook"). Christopher Ward, The
War of the Revolution (New York, N.Y., 1952), 594-595 (hereafter cited as Ward, War of the Revolution).

24. "Weekly
return of provisions and Stores Issued to the Grand Army under the Immediate
Command of ... General Washington Including the Park of Artillery at Pluckemin
...", five returns for the period 21 April to 28 May 1779, Misc.
Numbered Records, reel 76, item nos. 22185, 22186, 22187, 22188 and 22189.
For brigade composition see, Lesser, Sinews of Independence, 112-115.

26. Angelakos,
"The Army at Middlebrook", 119-120. Samuel Hodgdon to Benjamin Flowers, 3 June 1779, Letters sent
by Commissary General of Military Stores and Assistant Quartermaster Samuel
Hodgdon ... July 19, 1778-May 24, 1784, Numbered Record Books Concerning
Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies
in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group
93, National Archives Microfilm Publication M853, reel 33, vol. 111, target
2, 200-201 (hereafter cited as Numbered
Record Books, Military Operations).

35. Some confusion
exists as to what total unit strength was for Armand's Corps. A 14 June return
shows a total of 82 officers and enlisted men in the unit, then stationed at
Wyoming, "Return of the Independend Corps Commanded by Collo. Armand
Wyoming June 14th 1779," Revolutionary War Rolls, National
Archives, reel 115, section 16-2. This roll differs from those found in Lesser,
Sinews of Independence, 88-89,
100-101, 128-129. Strength reports for Armand's Legion: October 1778, 170 men;
January 1779, 113 men at "Upper Smithfield", Pennsylvania: August
1779, 154 men.

36. Commager and
Morris, The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six, 153-154. For material supporting the conclusions for the rest of
the war see Rees, "... the multitude of women", vol. XXIII, no.
4, 5-17; vol. XXIV, no. 1, 6-16; vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-6. General orders, 25 July 1778,
Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 12 (1934), 231. "Brigade-major, is an
Officer appointed to act to a particular brigade. The most ingenious and expert
Captains should be chosen for this post; they are to wait at orderly time to
receive the orders which they carry, first to their proper General, and
afterwards to the Adjutants of regiments ... [the Adjutants] regulate together
the guards, parties, detachments, and convoys, and appoint them the hour and
place of rendezvous, at the head of the brigade, where the Brigade-major takes
and marches them to the place of general rendezvous." Among other duties
"He ought to know the state and condition of the brigade ..." Military
Dictionary 1768.

44. Elias Dayton to
Washington, 9 February 1782, GW Papers. General orders, 19 February
1783, Fitzpatrick, WGW, vol. 26 (1938) 147. From Pompton, New Jersey,
Colonel Shreve wrote: "It is with pain I inform Your Excellency that the
troops at this place revolted this evening and have marched toward Trenton ...
I was informed by a woman, of their intentions late this afternoon ...",
Israel Shreve to Washington, 20 January 1781, GW Papers, series 4, reel
74. Carl Van Doren, Mutiny in January (New York, N.Y., 1943), 208. Rees,
"... the multitude of women", vol. XXIV, no. 2, 2-3.

46. General orders,
2 June 1779, Order Book of Lt. Col. Francis Barber, 26 May 1779 to 6 September
1779, Louise Welles Murray, ed., Notes from Craft Collection in Tioga Point
Museum on the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, (Athens, Pa., 1929), 4. General
orders, 27 July 1779, 30 July 1779, ibid., 47, 53.